Kias: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! If other characters use the hax, then I think Serena has a right to use it as well… :) And yes, that's exactly what she's been wondering ever since it happened, especially since she's now forced to attend this school… :)
Legionstone: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :) Personally, I don't mind reading stories with canon plot if they have their own twist to it… :)
I only own my OC's!
Third Person's POV
There was nothing but silence inside the room. The room was small, but illuminated by light. A round table and a chair were at its very center. A person was sitting by the table. A white cape was covering upper part of his body, including his face. Cards were sprawled all over the round table.
A frown appeared on the man's face as he lifted up a card with his right hand. Turning the card around, he looked at it. Again, it was the same one from before. It showed a young woman. She was wearing a dress which was colored white, red, and black at the same time. A bouquet of flowers was in her hands. But, this time, there was another detail he hadn't noticed before. A lamb's head was peeking from behind her dress.
The man's eyebrows furrowed in both concentration and curiosity. Three colors of the dress symbolized something chaotic, or a clash, and the lamb behind the lady was symbol for innocence… "The Lady with flowers, yet again." He confirmed his suspicions.
He knew the card could refer to only one person. "Serena Accardi…" The man repeated the name he had remembered nearly a year ago. Until then, the 'Lady' card didn't appear. But now, it did… Pulling out a piece of paper from under the table, he looked at the picture.
A girl with long, fiery and messy red hair was waving at the camera. Freckles were over her cheeks. Her eyes were bright blue, and a small smile was on her face. The girl appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen.
Looking over the picture with his purple eyes, the man could see there was something… Unusual about the girl. And it's not because he was supposed to know her. In fact, that little detail had nothing to do with this.
He could sense she was quite an unusual child… She needed to be tested. If his predictions were true…
Suddenly, the door opened. Aster Phoenix was at the entrance of the room. "I've expected your arrival." The man stated while still looking at the card in his hand. The young, silver-haired guy walked to the table. "What's that card?" He raised an eyebrow.
The man put it down. "It doesn't matter." He waved his right hand in a dismissive manner. "What I want," This time, he turned around to look up at Aster Phoenix. "Is for you to go back to Duel Academy." He said firmly.
Once he heard those words, Aster Phoenix looked at the man in disbelief. "Sartorius, need I remind you I've been there recently?" He frowned. "I'm aware, which is why I want you to go there again." The man named Sartorius replied calmly.
"But why? Not only I'd dueled Jaden Yuki before, I had to lose to a guy who's not even a pro because you had told me to!" The young guy questioned. Sartorius could sense he was trying not to lose his patience. "I had asked you before," He started while turning back to his table. "And now I'll ask you again to put your complete faith in me." He finished calmly.
Aster Phoenix kept frowning. Sartorius was someone he could trust, he knew that… He was his friend, and he helped him so many times! Especially when his legal guardian was acting weird…
However, the last two actions made him question the point of those events. He disliked Duel Academy, so he didn't understand why Sartorius had him enrolled there in the first place. He also didn't understand why the man wanted him to lose the duel to Jaden Yuki. Losing was the last thing he ever wanted, especially since he was a Pro Duelist.
As much as he wanted to call Sartorius out on those seemingly ridiculous actions, Aster Phoenix decided to stay quiet. He had just asked him for trust, and he couldn't deny that to his longtime friend, and now manager.
"Fine. Why should I go back to the Academy?" The silver-haired guy raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "I want you to duel a student named Serena Accardi, and lose the duel just like you had done so before." The man explained calmly. "You want me to lose again?" Aster Phoenix asked in disbelief.
However, this time, Sartorius ignored the tone of his voice. He only nodded. "Did you keep those cards like I had told you to?" "I did." The guy responded. It was silent for a few moments. "So, where am I supposed to find this girl?" He then asked. "Ask the Chancellor." Sartorius replied simply. Aster Phoenix frowned, but didn't say anything at that idea.
"Well, then I'd better get going." He said, getting ready to walk out. "Aster?" "Yes?" The man's voice made him turn around. "Do try to avoid mentioning me, even if they ask you." Sartorius finally said. The young Pro Duelist raised an eyebrow at the man's rather cold tone and choice of words. However, he only nodded. "Understood." With those words, he was out.
Serena's POV
There was nothing but thick mist yet again. Letting out a groan, I decided to just stay quiet and observe things around me. I already kind of knew what to expect whenever I was in this place…
"Oh, I lost again!" A young girl's voice suddenly exclaimed. I quickly turned around in hopes of finding out where those words came from. However, that was impossible, considering the voice was echoing from everywhere. "Let me see your cards." A young boy's voice said.
I stayed quiet. By now, I've heard that voice more than a few times… Yet I couldn't figure out who it was supposed to belong to.
"If you had played those cards after my turn, you could have won!" The boy then said cheerfully. "But I couldn't have, since you beat me on your turn." The girl pointed out in disappointment. "Well, maybe you'll win in the next duel. How about we play again?" The boy suggested. "There's no point, I'll lose either way!" She responded, not even trying to hide her sadness.
"But you were doing just fine, even better than before!" A third voice spoke up. It sounded very familiar… "Yeah, you managed to take out half of my Life Points!" The male voice added. "But I still lost…" The girl trailed off. "You did. Your friend lost a lot of duels until he got better at it." "I lost a ton!" The boy added, confirming those words.
"And besides, it's not always about winning and losing. It's about..." I couldn't hear the end of the words because of sudden wind blowing past me. Thankfully, it didn't knock me down. "Your aunt's right!" The boy agreed happily. "So how about we try again?" It was silent for a few moments. "You're on." The girl cheered.
"BEEP! BEEP!" The alarm's ringing could be heard. I let out a sneeze before quickly grabbing my pillow and turning around. Hopefully, the ringing would just stop, and I could continue my sleep….
However, it didn't stop at all. Instead, it was even worse than when it started. "Next time I'm choosing which alarm I should buy." I opened my eyes with a growl and sat up. I then turned off the alarm with the pillow still in my hands. Aunt Maria was the one who bought this alarm for me a month ago. She knew I could sleep in if I wanted to. Therefore, she wanted to prevent that from happening.
Even though I did turn off the alarm, I couldn't go back to sleep. The damn thing had woken me up already. Not only that, I also had stupid classes. Yup, that convinced me I was still on this hell of an island…
Today was Wednesday. It's been four days since Ben started ignoring me, even though I apologized to him for my outburst. If everything went as usual, he would get over it soon… Hopefully. Not talking to anyone would just lead me into insanity. I avoided damn fanatics of course, but Ben was my cousin, and I wanted to at least talk to him.
So far, if we didn't count Saturday, avoiding people has been going pretty well. I even managed to avoid those Slifer Red guys.
I threw my pillow at the bed and stood up. Soon after that, I put on my uniform and tied the Deck Box to the belt.
Just as I was about to take my herbarium, I accidentally knocked the album off my table. It landed on the floor, opening from the hitting force in process.
I was about to close it… When the photos on the page attracted my attention. One was of Ben and me when we were nine, another one was with Aunt Maria and Uncle Luca… However, the third and fourth one were with Sarina and Sartorius.
In the third one, the woman was reading me a book. In the fourth one, the man was spinning me around in the air. I was about four in those pictures…
"How did it end?!" I asked Sarina excitedly. "Sorry, little one," She let out a laugh and started putting the book away. "But that's enough for tonight. Your parents strictly told me to put you in bed at 9 o'clock. No later than that." "When are Mama and Papa coming home?" I asked slowly. "Probably around midnight." The woman stated. "Then we can finish the story!" I cheered.
"Serena, no. Your parents told me…" "Please, at least fifteen minutes!" I prevented her from closing the book and looked at her pleadingly. She looked at me for a few moments… And then she smiled. "Fine, but only fifteen minutes." She reminded. "Thank you, Sarina!" I squealed and jumped up, hugging the woman who laughed and hugged me back.
It would always be like that. I would beg Sarina to keep reading books to me when I was a kid. She would usually make an exception with putting me to bed (without my parents knowing that of course) because of my pleading. Even though my parents would usually be absent for a day, sometimes, I felt like it used to be even longer…
I looked away from the picture and looked at the other one.
"Spin me again!" I squealed excitedly as Sartorius spun me around in the garden of my house. "Again!" I exclaimed and he did so. "Again! Again! Again!" "Serena, one more time, and that's it for today. Alright?" The man looked at me. "Do it again!" I shouted excitedly before he spun me around in the air. I let out a squeal of joy while the wind was brushing against me.
However, it stopped. Sartorius put me down. "Again!" I exclaimed and ran to him. "We said only one more time, Serena." He reminded me. He then started walking away.
"What's wrong, little one?" Sarina asked while kneeling next to me. She could see I was in tears by now. "Sartorius won't spin me around anymore!" I exclaimed. Standing up, Sarina looked at her brother. "Why won't you spin Serena around? You know she likes it!" She asked. "Because if I keep doing it, then both of us will be on the ground. My head is throbbing." The man replied while sitting on a chair and holding his head with his right hand.
Sarina let out a laugh before looking down at me. "Don't worry. My brother will soon be ready for another round of spinning. He just needs to take a break." She explained. "Really?" I asked. "Promise." The man promised from his sitting position.
I chuckled at the memory. I used to beg Sartorius to constantly spin me around in the air until his head ached like crazy. Just him putting up with that when I was a kid was what I was thankful for. But, I was small and quite immature back when those pictures were taken… Again, I was only four!
Those two pictures reminded me I still had no idea where those two were at the moment… Wherever they were, I really hoped they were fine…
Suddenly, I remembered I still had to go to class. As much as I hoped those two were fine, I had bigger problems at the moment!
Seeing class was starting in ten minutes, I closed the album and put it on the bed. I then grabbed my herbarium and ran out of the room.
Once I arrived in the classroom, I could see Ben sitting with his friends on the right side, in fourth and fifth rows. I walked to the left side of it. Seeing the last rows have already been filled, I had no choice but to sit in the fifth one. I only hoped Ben or his friends hadn't seen me… If he did decide to stop ignoring me, he'd just try to introduce me to them. That was the way it worked. Ben would always try to get me to meet his friends…
I sat in the only free place and took out my herbarium. I didn't pay attention to those lessons at all. Instead, I spent the time looking through my plants, or even writing something about them.
Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Ben talking to his friends. He was sitting in a fifth row, in between a girl and a Ra Yellow student. Jaden, his buddy Syrus, and Chazz were in the row below them. However, that didn't stop them from getting into what seemed to be a heated discussion.
I finally decided to stop paying attention to what my cousin was doing. Why should I bother with it while he was ignoring me after all? If he saw me looking at him, Ben would take it as if I were desperate for him to forgive me. I wasn't. I had apologized to him. I did want to talk to someone who wasn't a dueling fanatic… But I was never going to go that far, as in pleading or attracting attention. He would eventually forgive me, and that was it.
No sooner than that, Mrs. Fontaine walked into the classroom. From what I understood, she was a substitute for this class until the other professor got better. I had to hand it to her though. She was the head of Obelisk Blue dorm for girls, a nurse, a gym instructor, and was a substitute… She was a woman with a lot of capacities. It was even more surprising since she seemed to be so young. Or she just took care of her looks in order to appear younger.
Suddenly, something fell out of Mrs. Fontaine's pocket while she was on her way to the desk. "Professor, you dropped something…" A dark blonde-haired girl, who was sitting on Ben's right started. That was when her hazel eyes widened. I could tell she was rather surprised for some reason…
My eyes landed on the paper the woman had dropped. It was a picture of a guy with long, dark brown hair… I didn't even get to see more of it because Mrs. Fontaine quickly picked it up. "Oh… How did that get here?" She quickly asked in surprise.
I rolled my eyes in disbelief. Why was she acting so surprised? The picture literally flew out of her pocket! "Che bello…" I could hear my cousin trailing off sarcastically while Mrs. Fontaine hurried to the desk. "If I weren't so used to your habits by now, I'd ask you to translate that." The Ra Yellow guy with angular face and slicked, black hair said in a thick British accent.
"What can I say? Proud to be Italian." I could see Ben smirking. The British guy simply smiled. The girl sighed before letting out a laugh. "I didn't know Mrs. Fontaine was a fan of Atticus…" She then commented in what seemed to be surprise. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I had no idea who this 'Atticus' was… "She must be compensating for her old age." The Ra Yellow guy pointed out matter-of-factly with this smile on his face.
Ben covered his mouth with hands not to burst in laughter, so did Jaden. The girl, and Syrus, on the other hand, looked at the guy in astonishment. Chazz Princeton simply let out a groan and face palmed.
I raised an eyebrow in surprise while trying not to laugh myself. They were dueling fanatics, sure… But this guy just straight out called her old… I only hoped the poor woman hadn't heard that. What surprised me was how casual the British guy sounded while insulting her… Or maybe he was just tactless. I wasn't even sure anymore. Again, I was hoping she hadn't heard him.
By now, Ben finally lost it. He burst in an uncontrollable laughter, with Jaden joining him. The girl, Syrus, and Chazz were simply staring at the Ra Yellow guy, Jaden, and my cousin back and forth. "You'd better pray she hadn't heard you!" My cousin then said a bit more loudly than intended (I guessed that wasn't his intention).
My eyes quickly landed on Mrs. Fontaine; whose back was turned to the class. She then started turning around. I could have sworn I've seen a brief scowl on her face, before it quickly went back to her usual smile. The woman made her way to where my cousin and his friends were sitting.
While my cousin and his friend were still laughing, the eyes of the other four widened to the size of saucers. "Cut it, Slacker!" Chazz smacked Jaden in the back of his head. The girl elbowed my cousin. The duo's eyes widened as well once they noticed Mrs. Fontaine standing beside their seats.
"Oh, good morning, Mrs. Fontaine…" The Ra Yellow guy greeted with a nervous smile. It was quiet for a few moments. The woman looked at the guy from head to toe. "Bastion, detention." She spoke up with a biggest smile I've seen from her so far. Her tone was no better. It sounded so nice and sweet that I could tell her 'being polite' attitude was forced. That was even scarier than actually being angry…
The Ra Yellow guy, now known to me as Bastion, gaped at her. Mrs. Fontaine's grey eyes then landed on my cousin. "Benjamin, detention for you too." She told him. "Wait, what did I do?!" Ben demanded in surprise, making Chazz groan and send him a look of disbelief.
Finally, her eyes landed on my cousin's accomplice in the laughing session. "Detention for you too, Jaden." She declared. The guy's eyes were so wide that I thought they were close to popping out of their sockets. "Detention?!" He exclaimed in surprise. "But I already have one from yesterday!" He then pointed out. "Then that will be a double detention for you." Mrs. Fontaine smiled before walking away from the group.
Ben and Jaden groaned while Bastion sighed. Syrus, Chazz, and the girl looked at them with sighs. "A double detention? What a way to start a school year, Jay…" The short guy pointed out in disbelief.
I decided not to listen to their talking anymore. Bastion guy kinda deserved it for insulting Mrs. Fontaine like that, but maybe she went a bit too far with Ben and Jaden… But then again, they were laughing at what their friend had said… However, Jaden wasn't joking when he said it was a double detention. The Chancellor gave him one yesterday for sleeping in his class, and he gave Syrus one too for not waking him up.
I rolled my eyes in disbelief. Just leave it to my cousin and his friends to get into some sort of trouble… It's been only a few days since the semester started!
"Serena Accardi!" Mrs. Fontaine's voice made my heart rate go faster in both panic and fear. What had I done wrong?! "Is it detention?!" I exclaimed frantically, throwing my herbarium to the floor (it echoed pretty loudly, I have to say, most of the students covered their ears) and jumping up.
The woman was looking at me in utter astonishment while a lot of people burst in laugher. However, her grey eyes then softened. "It's not a detention." She smiled. Thankfully, the smile looked genuine, unlike her previous forced one. "Chancellor Crowler requested for you to come to his office after this class." "Oh. Thank you." I nodded gratefully at her explanation and sat down. I then grabbed the herbarium from the floor and started looking through it. At the same time, I couldn't help wondering why the Chancellor wanted to see me…
Bell rang for the end of class. I stood up and took the herbarium in my hands. Without paying attention to other people inside, I made my way towards the Chancellor's office.
It'd be wonderful to say I did end up in the office… However, the truth was, I had no idea where it was supposed to be. I only had luck with the classroom because I saw other students walking in. "Oh, la gioia…" I trailed off sarcastically while tugging at my hair out of pure nervousness. It must have looked even messier now, but, again, when was my hair ever tidy? Mai.
"Hey, Serena." Jaden's voice could be heard from my right. Looking at the side, I could see the Slifer student grinning at me. "Hey." I greeted coldly. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Crowler's office?" He asked curiously.
That was technically where I was supposed to be… However, I wasn't going to admit I got lost. That would be just embarrassing! "What are you doing here?!" I retorted instead of giving a reasonable answer.
"Ben, Bastion, Syrus and I are heading to the office so we can hear what our detention is." Jaden let out a groan. "Well, next time don't laugh at your friend's insult." I frowned. "I wasn't laughing at what he said, I was laughing at the way he said it. The words themselves were kind of insulting..." He folded his arms. "You were still laughing." I reminded curtly. "I probably shouldn't have, because then I wouldn't have double detention." He put hands behind his head with a sheepish smile. "Probably?" I raised an eyebrow.
Just as he said that, I could see the other three guys walking up to where we were. Ben was looking at two of us back and forth with a frown. Bastion seemed to be rather calm. Syrus, on the other hand, was looking at me warily before looking back at his buddy.
Jaden opened his mouth to say something to my comment, but was cut off by his Ra Yellow friend. "I believe we haven't met properly. My name's Bastion Misawa." He offered me a hand. I eyed him for a few moments before finally accepting the hand. "Serena Accardi." I introduced myself as well and shook it. Bastion Misawa… This name was easy to remember… I wouldn't have to worry about asking people again and again what their name was if I remembered them correctly.
"We'd better get going before Crowler gives us double detention." Ben suddenly reminded. "That would be triple detention in Jaden's case." Bastion corrected him. "Not funny!" The mentioned person exclaimed. "Are you coming or not?" My cousin frowned at me. I could tell he was still mad. The only reason we were talking was because we weren't alone here.
However, I nodded. We then started walking to what I hoped was the Chancellor's office…
Well, that's it for today! In the next chapter, we get to see why Crowler wants Serena in the office… In case anyone's wondering the words in Italian mean:
Che bello: How nice;
La gioia: Joy;
Mai: Never;
Also, to make something clear. Bastion's comment and the 'picture' thing are actually from the 'Tag Force' game. This situation is inspired by it.
I hope you liked it and until next time! :)